What I Did With 2014

So I did a whole lot of stuff in 2014 and I figure there's no shame in bragging about a little about some of it. Maybe in the process of boasting I'll be able to do a little bit of reflection, too.

Taken at ComedySportz Richmond's 2013 Improv Festivus

Traveled to perform improv: 

I went to and performed in Atlanta, Chicago, and Gatlinburg in 2014. The Chicago Improv Festival and Gatlinburg Improv Festival were the highlights of my improv career so far and I'm really hoping to be able to return to them this coming year. I got to train with a couple of awesome people like Rance Rizzutto and Tara DeFrancisco and I got to see some incredible teams perform. When I really want to feel like a big deal, I smugly tell people I got to perform at the Chicago Improv Festival. Usually the response is a dutiful and faux-impressed "oh, wow."

Taught 40 hours of Theatre for Children in a week: 

My summer class made this year for the first time since I started teaching at the Community School of the Arts. Not only did it make, I had enough students to fill two classes. I had a pair of assistants, but I was the person designing the course and calling the shots. It was mentally and physically exhausting, so much so that I was powerfully sick and missed a week from my serving job because I couldn't even eat solid food let alone speak. At the same time, I learned quite a bit about how important preparation is for the type of class I run and I also learned that I have a tendency not to do enough of it.

Worked through the year: 

I know, what a low bar to set, but hear me out! Since I graduated in 2012 I've spent about two months of every year unemployed for one reason or the other. I generally find a job when I have $40 left in my bank account and I am in true desperation mode. I tend to quit my serving job and just assume the next thing I'm going to find is going to be incredible and I'll never need to go back, but that's not been the case so far. I'm learning that serving is a decent way to pay the bills and is nothing to be ashamed of while I'm figuring out how to develop my teaching and improv careers.

Started and kept up with a blog, mostly: 

This one has a serious asterisk on it due to the end of year burnout, but I've made more posts and gotten more views than on any other time that I've kept a blog. I really do care about writing this and it's been a goal for a long time to write more regularly. Interestingly, the main struggle has been putting it in front of people's eyes rather than just quietly posting. I was a lot more self-conscious about my writing and my thoughts on improv than I had realized and it's felt good to express myself and develop my thoughts thus far.

What kind of stuff did you do this year? Were you productive or did you find yourself believing you could've achieved more?